s 

334 
116 


a is 


NEVADA    LEGISLATURE, 


HELD   ON 


JANUARY    22d,    1873. 


ALSO,   THE 


ADDRESS  OF  SENATOR  JOHN  P.  JONES, 


THEN  DELIVERED. 


940 


7 


Ordered  printed  by  Concurrent  Resolution,  by  unanimous  vote,  in 

both  Houses. 


PROCEEDINGS  OP  JOINT  CONVENTION 


AND 


ADDRESS  OF  SENATOR  J.  P.  JONES. 


SENATE  CONCTJEEENT  EESOLUTION  EELATIYE  TO  FEINT- 
ING  PEOCEEDINGS  OF  JOINT   CONTENTION. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate,  the  Assembly  concurring,  That  two  thousand 
five  hundred  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly 
relating  to  the  election  of  United  States  Senator,  together  with  the 
remarks  of  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Jones  before  the  Joint  Convention  of  the  two 
Houses,  be  printed  In  pamphlet  form;  one  thousand  copies  for  the  use  of 
the  Senate,  fifteen  hundred  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Assembly. 

Passed  the  Senate  January  twenty-third,  eighteen  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three. Ayes,  19;  noes,  5. 

T.  A.  WATEEMAN, 

Assistant  Secretary. 

Passed  the  Assembly  January  twenty-third,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-three.  Ayes,  43;  noes,  2. 

J.  M.  WOODWOETH, 

Assistant  Clerk. 


[Extract  from  Journal  of  Senate.] 
IN    SENATE— SIXTEENTH    DAY. 

CARSON  CITY,  January  21st,  1873. 

Senate  met  at  eleven  o'clock,  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
President  in  the  chair. 


Roll  called,  and  full  Senate  present. 
Mr.  Stevenson  offered  the  following 

RESOLUTION. 

WHEREAS:  An  Act  of  Congress  entitled  an  Act  to  regulate  the  time 
and  manner  of  holding  elections  of  United  States  Senators  in  Congress, 
approved  July,  A.  D.  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six,  declares  that  each 
House  shall  openly,  by  a  viva  voce  vote  of  each  member  present, 
name  one  person  for  Senator  in  Congress;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  do  proceed  to  vote  viva  voce  for  an  United 
States  Senator,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  said  Act,  on  to-day, 
at  twelve  o'clock  M.,  to  represent  this  State  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Adopted. 

At  twelve  o'clock  M.,  the  President  announced  that  the  time  had 
arrived,  according  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  Senate,  for  the  elec- 
tion of  an  United  States  Senator. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Senate  then  read  the  law  of  Congress  apper- 
taining to  the  election  of  United  States  Senator. 

Mr.  Stevenson  placed  in  nomination  John  P.  Jones,  of  Storey  County. 

Mr.  McClinton,  of  Esmeralda  County,  seconded  the  nomination. 

Mr.  Cassidy,  of  Lander  County,  nominated  William  W.  McCoy,  of 
Lander  County. 

Mr.  Cleveland,  of  White  Pine  County,  nominated  Hon.  Charles  E. 
DeLong. 

The  roll  was  called,  and  the  vote  announced  as  follows: 

For  John  P.  Jones — Messrs.  Campbell,  Clapp,  Crawford,  Davenport, 
Eastman,  Hazlett,  Hobart,  Lockwood,  McClinton,  Moore,  Phelan,  Small, 
Stevenson,  Thompson,  Varian,  and  Walter — 16. 

For  W.  W.  McCoy— Messrs.  Cassidy,  Fox,  Hill,  Mills,  McBeth,  and 
Wilson— 6. 

For  Charles  E.  DeLong — Mr.  Cleveland — 1. 

For  Robert  McBeth— Mr.  McCoy— 1. 

Adjourned. 

FRANK    DENVER,  President. 

Attest:  CHARLES  F.  BICKNELL, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 


[Extract  from  Journal  of  the  House."} 

By  Mr.  Crawford: 

• 

WHEREAS,  An  Act  of  Congress  to  regulate  the  time  and  manner  of 
holding  elections  of  United  States  Senators  in  Congress,  approved  July 
twenty-fifth,  A.  D.  eighteen  hundred,  and  sixty-six,  declares  that  each 
House  shall  openly,  by  a  viva  voce  vote  of  each  member  present,  name 
one  person  for  Senator  in  Congress;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Assembly  do  proceed  to  vote  viva  voce  for,  a  United 
States  Senator  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  said  Act,  at  twelve 


o'clock  M.  to-day,  Tuesday,  the  twenty-first  day  of  July,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three. 

Eesolution  adopted. 

Twelve  o'clock  M.,  the  Speaker  announced  that  the  hour  had  arrived 
for  the  special  order,  which  was  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator, 
and  that  nominations  were  in  order. 

Mr.  Morrison  nominated  Hon.  J.  P.  Jones. 

Mr.  Owen  seconded  the  nomination. 

Mr.  Shoaff  nominated  Major  W.  W.  McCoy.  The  nomination  was  sec- 
onded by  Mr.  Street. 

No  further  nominations  being  made,  the  Speaker  declared  nominations 
closed,  and  the  roll  being  called,  resulted  as  follows: 

For  J.  P.  Jones — Messrs.  Adams,  Andrews,  Arnold,  Brunner,  Carpenter, 
Craig,  Crawford,  Dangberg,  Derby,  Drake,  Elzy,  Fox,  Gallagher,  Grey, 
Hart,  Hoppin,  Horton,  Keyser,  Lyrhan,  Mack,  McCall,  Morrison,  Owen, 
Prague,  Price,  Randall,  Rickey,  Robinson,  Sessions,  Shepperd,  Smith, 
Stern,  Stoddard,  Tobriner,  Twiss,  Wilson,  and  Mr.  Speaker — 37. 

For  Major  W.  W.  McCoy — Messrs.  Allen,  Burgess,  Cole,  Leinmon,  Mat- 
thews, Sanford,  Savage,  Shoaff,  Street,  Vinnedge,  and  Wallace — 11. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  in  relation  to  the  elec- 
tion of  United  States  Senator  the  vote  was  not  announced. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Grey,  at  twelve  o'clock  and  fifteen  minutes  p.  M. 
the  House  adjourned. 


IN  JOINT  CONVENTION. 

At  twelve  o'clock  M.,  January  twenty-second,  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-three,  the  Senate  and  Assembly  met  in  Joint  Convention  in  pur- 
suance with  the  law  of  Congress,  and  were  called  to  order  by  Hon. 
Frank  Denver,  President  of  the  Senate. 

The  rolls  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  were  called  by  the  Secretary 
and  Clerk  of  each  House  respectively. 

All  members  present. 

The  President  announced  that  the  object  for  which  they  were  assem- 
bled was  to  declare  the  action  of  each  House  had  on  the  preceding  day 
in  regard  to  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator. 

The  Journal  of  each  House  appertaining  to  the  election  of  Senator  was 
then  read  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  Clerk  of  the  Assembly 
respectively,  and  it  appearing  from  the  Journals  of  the  two  Houses  that 
a  majority  of  the  votes  of  each  House  had  been  cast  for  John  P.  Jones, 
the  President  then  declared  John  P.  Jones  duly  elected  United  States 
Senator  from  the  State  of  Nevada,  for  the  term  of  six  years  from  the 
fourth  day  of  March  next,  to  succeed  the  Hon.  James  W.  Nye. 

Mr.  Lockwood  offered  the  following  resolution: 

Jlesolved,  That  a  committee  of  five,  two  from  the  Senate  and  three 
from  the  Assembly,  be  appointed  by  the  President  and  Speaker  to  wait 
upon  the  Hon.  John  P.  Jones  and  inform  him  of  his  election  to  the  office 
of  United  States  Senator  for  the  State  of  Nevada. 

Adopted. 


The  President  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Senate 
Messrs.  Lockwood  and  McCoy. 

The  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  appointed  as  such  committee  on  the 
part  of  the  House,  Messrs.  Morrison,  Sessions,  and.  Crawford. 

The  committee  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Jones  in  accord- 
ance with  the  above  resolution,  presented  that  gentleman  to  the  Joint 
Convention,  who  addressed  them  at  length,  after  which  the  President 
declared  the  Convention  adjourned  sine  die. 

FRANK  DENVER, 

President  of  Senate. 
JOHN  BOWMAN, 

Speaker  of  Assembly. 
CHARLES  F.  BICKNELL, 

Secretary  of  Senate. 
A.  WHITFORD, 

Clerk  of  Assembly. 


ADDRESS  OF  SENATOR  JOHN  P.  JONES. 


In  coming  before  the  Joint  Convention,  Mr.  Jones  delivered  the  follow- 
ing address: 

Mr,  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly: 

It  is  with  no  ordinary  emotions  that  in  response  to  your  most  flatter- 
ing call  I  appear  before  you.  My  nature  would  be  cold,  indeed,  did  I 
not  feel  an  honest,  even  an  exultant,  pride  in  the  result  of  the  canvass 
for  United  States  Senator,  which  has  culminated  in  this  honorable  Legis- 
lature choosing  me  to  represent  this  youug  and  enterprising  common- 
wealth in  that  high  capacity.  I  am  grateful,  bej^oud  the  power  of 
expression,  for  the  honor  I  have  received  at  your  hands.  In  poverty  of 
utterance  I  can  only  say  that  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  this  dis- 
tinguished token  of  your  favor  and  trust;  and  through  you  I  desire  to 
extend  my  grateful  acknowledgments  to  our  common  constituency,  the 
people  of  Nevada,  whose  friendly  and  earnest  wishes  I  believe  have 
found  faithful  expression  through  your  votes  and  voices  to-day.  It 
would  be  affectation  in  me  to  deny  that  I  have  sought  and  coveted  this 
honor.  The  ambition  was  laudable,  I  trust,  which  impelled  me  to  aspire 
to  it;  but  I  should  be  guilty  of  disingenuousness  did  I  not  confess  that 
the  popular  response  to  my  appeal,' and  the  bestowal  of  the  honor  by 
you,  have  been  cordial  and  generous  beyond  my  expectation  or  deserv- 
ing. I  can  find  no  terms  to  adequately  acknowledge  such  superfluity  of 
favor.  My  gratitude  can  only  indulge  in  a  repetition  of  thanks. 

The  position  to  which  you  have  elevated  me  is  one  of  grave  responsi- 
bility and  almost  perilous  exaltedness.  The  great  men  of  the  nation 
have  woven  around  it  a  spell  of  genius,  eloquence,  and  grandeur,  till, 
like  an  Olympus,  it  has  seemed  a  sacred  theatre  of  the  gods,  toward 
whose  cloud-capped  glories  the  mortal  gaze  might  be  reverently  lifted, 
but  to  whose  lofty  height  no  ordinary  mortal  should  ever  climb.  I  dis- 
card the  myth,  and  approach  it  as  a  place  where  honest  purpose,  com- 
mon sense,  unflinching  courage,  and  average  abilities  will  be  crowned 
with  a  just  degree  of  success.  Conscious,  as  I  am,  of  a  lack  of  those 
commanding  talents  and  that  high  mental  discipline  and  culture  so 
earnestly  to  be  desired,  I  yet  accept  your  trust,  not  without  faith  in  my 
endowments  and  acquirements,  with  confidence  in  my  courage,  integrity, 
assiduity,  and  purpose,  and  with  reliance  upon  my  thorough  suscepti- 
bility to  the  impulses  and  impressions  which  sway  the  masses  and  gravi- 
tate forever  toward  the  general  good. 


8 

I  might  with  propriety  conclude  here,  without  further  trespassing 
upon  your  time  and  patience;  but  I  feel  that  justice  to  you,  to  the  people 
of  Nevada,  and  to  myself,  demands  that  something  additional  should  be 
said,  for  which  I  can  conceive  no  more  fitting  opportunity  than  the 
present.  And  in  order  that  my  plain,  earnest  meaning  may  not  be 
warped  or  misinterpreted  through  errors  of  extemporaneous  speech  or 
by  garbled  reports,  I  have  committed  my  remarks  to  writing,  that  they 
may  serve  as  an  authentic  record  of  my  sentiments  and  declarations,  to 
whose  truth  I  solemnly  subscribe  to-day,  and  to  whose  authority  I  hold 
myself  amenable.  It  has  been  charged  by  a  portion  of  the  press,  and 
whispered  about  with  the  deprecating  hypocrisy  of  scandal,  till  the  very 
air  has  become  poisoned  with  tfce  falsehood,  that  the  recent  campaign  irr 
this  State  was  a  corrupt  and  profligate  one.  It  has  been  charged  that  I 
have  resorted  to  vile  and  reprehensible  practices  in  furtherance  of  selfish 
designs;  that  the  people  bargained  away  their  political  principles  and 
preferences  for  less  than  a  mendicant's  pittance;  that  you  are  the  natural 
spawn  of  this  unlawful  commerce,  and  have  slavishly  set  the  seal  upon 
a  dishonorable  compact.  I  blush  while  I  repeat  the  shameless  slanders 
with  which  wantonness  has  filled  the  atmosphere,  and  which  have 
already  found  currency  in  a  portion  of  the  press  east  of  .the  Rocky 
Mountains,  to  the  scandal  of  the  State  and  the  reproach  of  its  citizens. 
I  have  not  suffered  my  peace  to  be  disquieted  by  these  malevolent  voices, 
which  float  about  as  busy  and  anonymous  as  the  whisperings  of  the 
wind.  I  stand  Loo  firmly  poised  on  the  basis  of  a  reproachless  con- 
science and  the  rectitude  of  my  aims,  acts,  and  purposes,  for  such 
assaults  to  disturb  my  equanimity;  and  I  have  been  silent  amid  this 
storm  of  misrepresentation,  falsehood,  and  calumny,  knowing  that  if  my 
character  and  actions  did  not  vindicate  mo  ut  the  bar  of  intelligent 
public  opinion,  I  should  find  but  poor  remedy  in  protests,  replications, 
and  rejoinders.  But  the  vindication  which  slander  could  not  have  wrung 
from  me  on  personal  account,  1  feel  to  be  due  to  you  and  to  the  people 
of  Nevada  \vhu  have  Buffered  aspersion  through  your  generosity  to  UK-. 
I  deny  that  the  recent  canvass  was  corrupt  or  profligate  beyond  what 
might  be  as  justly  charged  against  any  and  every  political  campaign, 
whether  municipal,  State,  or  national,  within  my  memory.  Money  was 
used,  it  is  true;  but  generally,  so  far. as  I  know,  by  the  Central  Commit- 
tees of  the  various  counties,  and  legitimately  in  the  interest  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  presenting  clearly  to  all  the  true  issues  involved 
in  the  campaign.  There  has  not  an  election  gone  by  since  our  existence 
as  a  nation  that  has  not  witnessed  and  sanctioned  its  like  use.  They 
who  inveigh  against  political  expenditure  of  this  character  simply  decry 
the  inevitable,  and  incur  more  than  suspicion  of  their  candor  or  intelli- 
gence. In  the  present  instance,  the  outcry  emanates  from  those  who 
invested  their  money  in  political  venture  and  encountered  defeat,  and 
are  now  mistaking  the  pangs  of  disappointed  hopes  and  ambitions  for 
virtuous  emotions  and  honest  purposes. '  Corruption  is  no  necessary 
corollary  to  the  use  of  money.  A  sum  as  vast  as  our  national  debt 
might  be  disbursed,  and  no  one  be  corrupted.  The  mere  disbursement 
of  money  is  blameless  in  itself.  The  purpose,  intent,  and  eil'ert  must 
constitute  the  offense,  if  any  there  be.  And  I  deny,  so  f:ir  as  these 
charge;*  have  been  connected  with  my  name,  that  1  have  ever  sought  to 
corrupt  a  single  voter,  or  that  I  have  ever  exacted,  or  sought  to  exact, 
or  even  asked,  a  pledge  of  political  support  iruin  any  member  of  this 
honorable  Legislature,  or  that  I  have  ever  exacted  or  asked  a  pledge  of 
political  support  from  any  man,  living  or  dead,  in  return  for  any  c-onsid- 


eration  whatever,  other  than  my  promises,  made  in*  public  and  in  pri- 
vate, that  I  would,  if  elected,  faithfully  represent  the  people,  and  that 
each  and  every  vote  cast  by  me  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  would 
be  for  the  general  good — untainted  by  venality  and  unstained  by  selfish 
or  personal  considerations.  The  pretense  or  insinuation,  then,  that  your 
election,  or  the  election  of  any  of  you,  was  brought  about  by  corrupt 
influences,  or  that,  being  elected,  your  votes  for  Senator  were  influenced 
by  rewards  or  promises  of  reward,  is  an  insult  to  the  integrity  of  the 
honest  yeomanry  of  Nevada,  and  an  outrage  of  the  grossest  character 
upon  the  honorable  and  high-minded  gentlemen  who  represent  them  and 
their  wishes  in  the  Legislature.  Those  charges  or  insinuations  are  the 
suggestions  of  dishonest  and  disappointed  men,  made  through  the  imper- 
sonality of  certain  disreputable  newspapers  in  this  and  a  neighboring 
State.  A  truthful,  pure,  independent,  and  honorable  newspaper  is  a 
necessity  to  modern  civilization.  Its  true  mission  is  high,  noble,  and 
ennobling.  It  is  the  brave  vindicator  of  the  rights  of  the  people — their 
daily  monitor,  their  intelligent  advocate,  their  leader,  protector,  and 
guide,  unpurchased  and  unpurchasable;  but  the  venal,  licentious,  cow- 
ardly, libelous,  and  sneaking  "  interviewing  "  sheet,  which  battens  upon 
the  abominations  of  its  own  creation,  and  waxes  fat  upon  the  indecencies 
which  its  vile  imagination  conjures  up  to  defame  the  just,  and  which,  for 
sordid  motives,  panders  to  the  depraved  taste  of  the  vicious,  is  a  sore 
upon  the  body  politic  which  sooner  or  .later  will  have  to  be  removed  by 
the  scalpel.  I  believe  the  verdict  of  the  people  at  the  late  election  to 
have  been  the  most  spontaneous  expression  of  their  sentiments  ever 
given  in  Nevada.  While  I  have  the  honest  satisfaction  of  being  able  to 
look  every  citizen  of  the  State  boldly  in  the  eye,  with  the  consciousness 
of  never  having  attempted  to  degrade  his  citizenship,  question  his  integ- 
rity, or  insult  his  honor,  I  readily  acknowledge  that  money  was  used  in 
the  campaign — but  not  corruptly.  It  was  used  legitimately  and  right- 
full}^.  The  popular  espousal  of  my  candidature  alienated  men  and  insti- 
tutions of  wealth,  power,  and  influence,  who  had  theretofore  been  gen- 
erous patrons  of  the  Eepublican  party,  and  checked  numerous  sources 
of  supply  and  turned  them  into  channels  which  flowed  into  and  filled 
the  exchequer  of  the  opposition.  These  powerful  influences  encouraged 
and  promoted  discord  within  the  organization;  there  was  peril  without; 
there  were  craft,  intimidation,  and  treachery  on  every  hand,  endangering 
alike  the  success  of  the  party  and  the  interests  of  the  community. 

If,  through  party  and  personal  zeal,  I  volunteered  to  stand  in  the 
breach  caused  by  the  desertion  of  others,  and  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
fight  and  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  I  trust,  while  I  arrogate  to 
myself  no  virtue  for  so  doing,  that  others  will  not  impute  it  to  me  as  a 
crime.  And,  in  this  connection,  it  is  a  notable  and  noticeable  fact  that 
it  is  not  charged  that  any  of  the  money  said  to  have  been  used  was 
furnished  by  either  men  or  corporations  who  now  ask,  or  who  are  likely 
to  ask,  special  legislation  or  favors  at  the  hands  of  the  National  Con- 
gress. 

It  is  said  that  money  was  the  corner  stone  of  my  candidature.  The 
charge  is  false.  Had  I  felt  that  my  aspirations  rested  on  no  better  or 
firmer  foundation  than  that,  or  that  I  possessed  no  other  claim  or  quali- 
fication to  represent  Nevada  in  the  Senate  of  the  nation,  I  should  never 
have  contended  for  the  honor,  though  my  riches'  were  incalculable.  Let 
him  who  imagines  the  popular  disposal  of  that  dignity  a  mere  matter  of 

2*** 


10 

bargain  and  sale  go  "and  scatter  broadcast  his  pieces  from  the  Wasatch 
to  the  Sierras;  let  him  heap  up  his  bribes  till  the  Great  Basin  shall 
overflow;  and,  my  life  upon  the  issue,  his  gold  cannot  so  innoculate  the 
virtue  of  the  people  of  our  State  that  a  single  county  will  return  a  dele- 
gation to  do  homage  to  his  presumption.  My  aspirations  rested  upon  a 
not  unnatural  faith  in  my  abilities  and  a  confident  belief,  which  almost 
amounted  to  knowledge,  that  I  shared  with  the  masses  their  hopes, 
fears,  inspirations,  and  convictions.  I  felt  in  my  breast  the  prompting 
of  emotions  which  an  unerring  instinct  told  me  agitated  the  bosdm  of 
the  whole  community;  and  it  is  to  the  uprising  and  outpouring  of  those 
tides  of  popular  feeling,  alone  that  I  ascribe  the  sweeping  victory 
achieved  at  the  ballot-box.  They  who  saw  in  the  late  election  nothing 
but  the  influence  of  money,  or  the  caprice  of  public  sentiment,  misap- 
prehended the  moral  of  the  campaign.  The  action  of  the  people  was 
neither  sordid  nor  capricious.  The  surface  of  events  vibrated  and  undu- 
lated in  conformity  with  the  earnest  pulsations  of  the  great  heart  beneath. 
It  was  the  first  low  groundswell  of  an  approaching  political  tempest  whose 
tumultuous  billows  within  the  current  century  shall  lash  this  continent 
to  its  uttermost  confines.  We  live  in  the  noonday  of  the  ages;  we  are 
passing  through  the  torrid  zone  of  time,  surrounded  by  the  whirl  and 
rush  of  mighty  political  cyclones.  The  new  order  of  things  crowds 
impatiently  upon  the  footsteps  of  the  old.  Standing  on  the  receding 
skirts  of  the  giant  rebellion  of  history,  we  encounter  the  front  of  a 
revolution  no  less  colossal.  Not  one,  thank  God!  to  be  wrought  out  by 
the  red  hand  of  slaughter.  No  embittered  sections  are  about  to  yawn 
apart  and  form  a  chasm  only  to  be  closed  by  the  nation's  best  blood  and 
treasure.  No  feud  of  color  is  about  to  seek  agreement  in  one  common 
crimson;  no  sect  is  about  to  proclaim  the  gospel  of  the  cannon;  no 
caste  to  invoke  Sir  Sword  as  arbiter.  But  the  people  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  irrespective  of  race,  creed,  or  condition, 
are  about  to  reassert,  in  a  broader  sense,  the  declaration  that  govern- 
ments derive  their  just  powers  only  from  the  consent  of  the  governed, 
and  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  and  demand  fulfillment  of  the  spirit 
as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  declaration.  The  one  great  irrepressible 
conflict  that  has  sounded  no  truce  during  the  ages,  and  which  will  never 
beat  a  retreat  until  victory  is  won,  is  that  of  popular  rights  against 
usurped  and  unjust  authority — the  cause  of  the  people  against  tyranni- 
cal power.  Its  enemies  have  overcome  it;  its  champions  have  aban- 
doned it;  its  friends  have  disgraced  and  endangered  it  by  horrible  sat- 
urnalia; its  votaries  in  hecatombs  have  trod  the  narrow  plank  to  the 
scaffold,  languished  and  starved  in  dungeons,  and  perished  in  exile;  its 
soldiers  have,  with  despairing  energy,  thrown  their  naked  breasts  upon 
the  serried  bayonets  of  their  foe;  in  disaster  and  defeat  its  banners 
have  trailed  in  the  dust.  But,  defeated,  betrayed,  and  bowed  in  shame, 
it  has  never  disbanded  its  forces  nor  surrendered  the  principles  for 
which  it  fought.  Its  citadel  is  the  unconquerable  soul  of  man;  the 
cradles  of  human  intelligence  are  its  arsenals;  its  muster  rolls  embrace 
the  masses  of  mankind.  From  generation  to  generation,  from  century 
to  century,  it  has  struggled  on  through  triumph  and  defeat,  advancing 
with  an  everlasting  persistency  toward  a  complete  and  final  victory. 
Its  trophies  are  the  glories  of  the  age.  It  has  torn  the  badge  of  serf- 
dom from  sixty  millions  -of  people  in  Russia,  and  placed  them  on  the 
high  plane  of  manhood  and  citizenship;  it  has  modified  the  rigor  of 
imperial  sway  in  Germany;  it  has  guaranteed  civil  and  religious  liberty 
to  Itaty;  though  provoking  inevitable  reaction  by  the  excesses  of  the 


11 

revolution  and  the  Commune,  it  has  broken  forever  the  rod  of  aristo- 
cratic dominion  in  France — not  even  the  magic  name  of  Napoleon  shall 
ever  again  cause  the  tri-color  to  float  over  an  empire;  it  has  driven 
Cfesarism  from  the  face  of  Europe,  and  its  imperial  champion  to  exile 
and  death;  in  England  its  progress  has  been  sure  and  steady  from  the 
time  it  dealt  the  first  signal  blow  to  the  prerogative  at  liunnymede  to 
the  latest  concession  to  "  the  green  island  which  hangs  at  the  belt  of 
Britain,"  and  the  latest  extension  of  the  elective  franchise;  it  has,  with- 
in our  own  time,  crossed  the  Pyrenees  into  slumbering  Spain  and  driven 
one  monarch  into  exile,  and  now  menacingly  crowds  around  the  throne 
of  her  successor.  The  ancient  empire  of  caste  and  oppression  shall  be 
subverted,  despite  the  opposition  of  dynasties,  the  weight  of  empires, 
and  the  craft  of  kings.  The  fiat  has  gone  forth;  the  handwriting  is  on 
the  wall;  no  power  shall  stay  its  irresistible  onward  course.  It  shall 
march  on  from  victory  to  victory,  with  dauntless  front  and  stately  step, 
until  its  grand  idea  shall  be  crystalized  into  universal  law — that  it  is  the 
prerogative  of  the  people  to  rule,  and  that  freedom  and  equality  are  the 
birthright  of  mankind. 

In  our  own  country  its  theories  were  made  the  fundamental  principles 
of  government.  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,"  so  runs  the 
national  ordinance,  "in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain 
and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America."  The 
sovereign  authority  still  rests  with  "  We,  the  people."  All  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial  power  is  only  delegated,  to  be  regathered  into  the 
hands  that  granted  it  whenever  the  people  shall  consider  their  trust 
abused.  And  it  is  a  general  awakening  to  the  conviction  that  the  spirit, 
if  not  the  letter  of  our  national  charter  is  being  violated,  that  is  arous- 
ing the  people  to  the  necessity  of  reasserting  their  sovereign  authority. 
The  alarming  abuses  are  not  executive  usurpations,  legislative  encroach- 
ments, nor  judicial  servility,  affecting  the  life  and  liberty  of  the  citizen. 
Such  outrages  would  find  a  speedy  and  complete  redress  at  the  hands  of 
forty  millions  of  freemen.  But  the  personal  freedom  and  security  of  the 
citizen  may  be  respected,  and  yet  his  rights  be  grievously  violated.  Into 
our  Government,  wearing  the  broad  phylactery  of  constitutional  sanc- 
tity, and  bearing  the  impenetrable  shield  of  legality,  have  crept  practices 
which,  though  constitutional,  are  not  right,  and  though  legal,  are  not 
just.  The. power  of  money — the  power  of  leagued  and  corporate  wealth, 
confederated  under  legal  forms  for  purposes  of  public  plunder  and  self- 
aggrandizement — has  arrayed  itself  in  antagonism  to  the  rights  and 
welfare  of  the  people,  has  gained  a  dangerous  influence  in  governmental 
matters,  and  is  arbitrarily  exercising  its  control  over  nearly  all  the 
material  interests  of  the  country.  ^  The  public  domain — the  freehold  of 
the  people — is  lavishly  given  over  to  grasping  corporations.  The  public 
treasure — the  common  property  of  all — is  donated  them  in  more  than 
princely  subsidies.  By  charters,  framed  to  their  bidding,  they  are 
empowered  to  extort,  monopolize,  and  discriminate  at  will.  Their  grasp  is 
upon  every  community,  restricting  the  healthful  currents  of  trade,  para- 
lyzing the  free  action  of  industry,  and  thwarting  the  popular  will  in  the 
choice  of  representatives.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  that  such  a  state  of  affairs 
should  excite  the  alarm,  indignation,  and  resentment  of  a  people,  every 
one  of  whom  believes  that  he  has  an  equal  interest  in  the  commonwealth,  an 
equal  claim  to  its  consideration,  and  an  equal  right  to  pursue  his  avoca- 
tions unmolested,  and  to  make  his  political  choice  heard?  The  farmer, 


12 

who  from  his  scanty  savings  pays  for  his  modest  quarter  section  of  land, 
fails  to  discover  a  ju^t  iv.-ison  why  a  thousand  times  as  much  of  the  pub- 
lic domain  should  be  gratuitously  ceded  to  men  a  thousandfold  more  able 
to  pay  for  it;  the  humble  taxpayer,  who  year  after  year  gives  over  to  the 
Government  the  tithes  of  his  earnings  without  hope  of  any  other  return 
than  protection  to  his  person  and  property,  fails  to  discover  a  just  iva- 
son  why  his  hard-earned  dollars  should  betaken  from  the  public  treasury 
and  given  in  subsidy  to  men  whose  wealth  is  almost  fabulous  compared 
to  his  own;  the  tradesman,  mechanic,  and  laborer  can  discover  no  just 
reason  why  Government  should  empower  men  to  discriminate  against 
them — the  masses  no  just  reason  why  their  voice  in  the  election  of  rep- 
resentatives should  be  overruled  by  a  wealth  and  power  unjustly  wrung 
from  themselves.     These  injustices  were  not  foreseen  nor  contemplated 
when  our  Government  was  ordained,  and  will  not  be  endured  by  a  people 
having  the  power  to  rectify  them  and  deserving  to  be  free.     In  the  grim 
presence  of  the  rebellion,  when  every  nerve  and  sinew  was  strung  to 
preserve  the  national  life  and  unity,  and  during  the  subsequent  years 
while  the  Government  walked  unsteadily  over  ground  upturned  by  the 
fiery  plowshare  of  revolution,  the  lesser  evils  were  suffered  to  fester 
and  ripen  unheeded.     But  the  time  has  now  come  to  remedy  them.     I 
mistake  the  significance  of  the  murmurs  which  I  hear  arising  with  ever 
increasing  volume  from  every  quarter  of  the  republic — I  impeach  my 
heart  of  misinterpretation  of  the  popular  voice — if  I  do  not  discover  in 
them  the  foresoundiugs  of  a  solemn,  universal  declaration  which  shall  re- 
verberate*throughout  the  commonwealth:  We,  the  people,  do  ordain  that 
the  national  soil  and  treasure  shall  not  be  squandered  in  subsidies,  that  the 
public  land  shall  be  donated  to  actual  settlers  only,  and  in  limited  quanti- 
ties, and  that  the  residue  not  so  entered  upon  shall  be  held  by  us  iu  trust 
as  a  legacy  for  those  who  may  come  after  us;  that  the  citizen  be  taxed 
for  no  purpose  but  protection  to  his  person  and  property;  that  the  chan- 
nels of  communication  and  highways  of  commerce  shall  be  the  property 
of  the  nation,  in  order  that  the  distributing  forces  of  the  country,  which 
are  indispensable  to  the  civilization  of  the  age,  and  to  the  welfare,  hap- 
piness, and  prosperity  of  the  people,  .shall  not  be  concentered  in  the 
hands  of  the  few,  but  that  they  may  be  practically  as  well  as  legally 
accessible  to  all,  and  free  from  any  discriminations  or  partiality.     In 
that  declaration  no  voice  will  join  more  heartily  than  mine.     No  public 
servant  will  make  that  mandate  more  absolutely  his  rule  of  conduct  than 
myself.     As  a  Senator  of  the  nation  I  will  not  vote  for  the  appropria- 
tion of  a  dollar  out  of  the  public  treasury,  except  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  faith  and  credit,  and  for  purely  governmental  purposes  and 
the  attainment  of  the  objects  for  which  this  Government  was  created. 
I  will  not  vote  for  a  subsidy  of  land,  money,  bonds,  or  credit  to  either 
individuals  or  corporations.     I  will  not  vote  for  any  hot-bed  scheme  for 
"the  development  of  our  resources,"  because  I  believe  their  development 
to  be  more  healthful  when  made  solely  by  private  enterprise,  under  the 
all-sufficient  stimulus  of  private  interest;  and  1  further  believe  that  such 
propositions  are  not  generally  made  for  the  public  good,  but  in  the 
interest  of  public  plunderers.     I  will   vote,    if  opportunity  offer,  for 
extending  universal  amnesty  to  all  engaged  in  the  late  rebellion.     In  the 
plenitude  of  its  power,  the  Government  can  afford  to  be  magnanimous. 
I  will  vote  for  any  bill  to  regulate,  equalize,  and  reduce  freights  and  fares 
on  any  and  all  roads  (especially  those  built  in  whole  or  in  part  by  Gov- 
ernment subsidy)  that  shall  seem  to  me  just,  equitable,  and  effectual.     I 


13 

will  vote  for  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  all  articles  now  subject  to  its 
provisions  until  it  shall  reach  the  lowest  possible  point  consistent  with 
the  public  credit;  and  I  believe  that  an  immediate  reduction  thereof 
would  increase  rather  than  diminish  the  public  revenue.  Although  I 
have  not  given  the  subject  that  attention  its  magnitude  demands,  which 
debars  me  from  expressing  a  decided  opinion  upon  it,  yet  my  impi'essions 
are  that  the  Government  should,  on  equitable  terms,  acquire  possession 
of  the  telegraph  lines  and  control  the  telegraphic  business  of  the  coun.- 
try,  incorporating  it  with  the  postal  system.  I  will  not  at  this  time 
present  any  of  the  reasons  of  the  political  economists  for  voting  as 
indicated  on  the  propositions  referred  to.  To  act  otherwise  would,  in 
my  opinion,  aid  in  destroying  those  great  principles  of  equality  and  justice 
which  inspired  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  are  the  only  sure 
foundations  of  republican  government. 

I  promised  all  this  in  the  late  canvass;  but  I  am  aware  that  unfriendly 
tongues  have  been  busy  in  construing  my  pledges  as  the  crafty  springes 
of  an  ambitious  demagogue,  who  fawns  upon  the  people  for  their  favor 
and  repays  their  trust  with  wanton  violation  of  his  promises.  If  I  were 
capable  of  such  turpitude,  I  should  be  silent  now.  But  here,  with  the 
coveted  honor  securely  resting  upon  my  brow — here,  where  even  malice 
can  impute  to  me  no  motive  for  dissimulation;  here,  where  any  promise 
that  did  not  originate  in  an  earnest  purpose  of  fulfillment  would  be  a 
gratuitous  and  voluntary  perjury — I  desire  to  reaffirm  every  pledge 
made  by  me  during  the  campaign  of  irreconcilable  hostility  to  the  power 
and  purposes  of  the  monopolists  and  of  unalterable  fidelity  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  people.  I  am  impelled  to  do  this  in  justice  to  the  people  and 
to  avert  false  judgment  of  myself.  It  is  a  propensity  of  human  nature 
to  expect  an  immediate  remedy  for  acknowledged  evils;  but  by  a  law 
of  necessity  reforms  are  seldom  able  to  keep  pace  with  the  popular  desire. 
In  the  long  journey  through  the  wilderness  which  stretches  between 
the  house  of  bondage  and  the  land  of  promise,  the  people  are  apt  to 
murmur  against  the  incapacity  or  treachery  of  those  delegated  to  con- 
duct the  weary  pilgrimage.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  specify  more 
fully  the  measures  I  will  support  or  oppose,  because  many  of  the  ques- 
tions with  which  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  deal  yet  sleep  in  the  obscure 
lap  of  the  future.  But  this  I  do  know — and  this  is  the  assurance  I 
would  have  my  constituents  hold  patiently  and  undisturbed,  however 
long  I  may  sit  in  the  National  Capitol  voiceless  at  the  gate  of  absent 
opportunity — that  whenever  an  issue  arises  in  which  the  interests  of 
the  people  rest  in  the  one  scale  and  aught  that  conflicts  with  them  in 
the  other,  though  riches  and  honors  were  heaped  mountain  high  to 
reward  my  support  of  the  anti-popular  side,  my  voice  and  my  vote  shall 
be  given  for  the  cause  of  the  people,  though  that  voice  be  echoless  and 
that  vote  alone.  I  trust  I  shall  never  forget  that,  as  a  Senator  of  the 
great  republic,  my  paramount  duty  will  be  to  aid  in  upholding  and 
advancing  the  dignity,  honor,  and  glory  of  our  common  country  at 
home  and  abroad,  that  the  national  ensign  may  be  honored  and 
respected  on  every  land  and  sea — not  alone  because  it  represents  power, 
but  because  it  is  the  emblem  and  standard  of  a  grand  civilization  based 
upon  freedom,  justice,  and  equality.  Next  to  this,  I  recognize  the  obli- 
gation to  devote  my  undivided  energies  to  the  promotion  of  the  material 
interests  and  prosperity  of  the  State  and  people  who  have  conferred 
upon  me  so  much  honor,  and  to  whom  I  shall  ever  owe  the  most  pro- 
found gratitude.  Should  I  ever  pursue  a  wrong  course,  through  imper- 


14 

feet  knowledge  or  a  fault  of  judgment,  I  shall  hasten  to  correct  my 
•  rror  when  it  is  proved  such  by  better  lights  and  a  clearer  vision.  I 
will  never  persevere  in  the  wrong  to  sustain  a  character  for  consistency. 
With  such  a  purpose  I  go  forth  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  high 
office  with  which  you  have  invested  me.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  I  may 
come  short  of  your  wishes  through  lack  of  ability,  but  I  have  no  fear 
but  my  fidelity  shall  wear  the  badge  of  your  approval.  But,  whatever 
achievements  or  failures  await  me — whether  I  shall  render  up  my  stew- 
ardship with  your  favor  or  disapprobation — I  shall  strive  for  high  and 
honorable  aims;  I  shall  battle  with  all  the  ardor  of  my  nature;  I  shall 
bear  true  allegiance  to  my  sovereign  masters — the  people. 


AT 

ANGELES 
RARY 


